Find out about Ash Road Bridge

The Ash Road Bridge scheme is an important infrastructure project. It is part of the Council's Local Plan (Policy A31).

It will enable housing that has been allocated in the Local Plan to come forward and will close Ash level crossing.

The closure will improve safety for local residents and users of Ash train station. It will also reduce traffic congestion in the area.

The scheme will encourage traffic off rural roads. Traffic currently uses rural roads to avoid the level crossing. This will remove the safety hazard posed by the present level crossing. 

The level crossing closes around eight times an hour or 150 times a day. This currently amounts to closure periods of up to 25 minutes per hour.

The level crossing will be closed to vehicle traffic when the road bridge opens. 

Pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to cross the railway at the level crossing until such time as a footbridge is installed.

Key dates

• preparation works July to August 2023
• main construction starts September 2023
• new bridge installation December 2023 to October 2024
• Foreman Road closures November 2023 to July 2024
• new link road and bridge open to traffic November 2024
• completion February 2025

October 2024

• We are planning to complete the installation to the Vehicle Restraint System over the new bridge next week, 7 to 11 October. The work will take place overnight between 00:40 am and 04:40 am to coincide with the overnight period when no trains are running.  However, we will be on site between 8pm and 6am.

  This work is planned to take place on:

• Monday night 7 October to 8 October
• Tuesday night 8 October to 9 October
• Wednesday night 9 October to 10 October

• Thursday night 10 October to 11 October

September 2024

• Network Rail is closing the railway line over the weekend of 14 and 15 September 2024. We are taking advantage of this closure to install the Vehicle Restraint System over the bridge. We, as an environmental health authority, have given permission for weekend working between 8pm Saturday 14 September and 5am Monday 16 September.

• the north embankment is in the settling period and backfilling to main structure is ongoing

• phase 4 started on 2 September. This involves installation of traffic calming measures on Grange Road
• low voltage cable installation to be completed this month
• completing the land drainage culvert wingwalls on the north side

August 2024

• the main bridge structure wingwalls are now complete on both sides
• phase 3 works complete. New roundabout has been fully constructed
• the concrete bridge deck is now fully cured
• Ash Youth Club received a £15,000 donation from VolkerFitzpatrick, Tony Gee and Sword Contracts to fund a youth worker for a year. This is part of the social value element of the project

July 2024

• resurfacing completed on Foreman Road between Ash Church Road and Vyne Walk
• phase 3 started on 15 July
• wing walls on the north side of the bridge completed
• bridge deck fully completed
• start fill for the north embankment
• visitors to the site:         
  • representatives from Homes England
  • local scout, cub and beaver groups
  • four students from Ash Manor School completed four days of work experience

June 2024 

• the beams are now in place, next the VolkerFitzpatrick team will be working on:
• the bridge deck, parapets and retaining walls 
• building the embankments and connecting them to the bridge deck

May 2024

• a significant milestone in the Ash Road Bridge project was reached over the early May Bank Holiday weekend. 19 bridge beams were installed over the railway. You can read more about it in our newsroom and watch live footage on YouTube (opens new window)

• phase two of the traffic management scheme will be in place from 15 May. You can view the traffic management schemes on our website

April 2024

• surfacing of Phase 1 of Foreman Road (Guildford Road to Foreman Park) is due to take place before the end of April following installation of curbs, edging and ducting
• key work ongoing for the structures on both the north and south sites to be ready for the beam installation in early May
• phase 2 of Foreman Road (Foreman Park to Vyne Walk) will now start in May. The traffic management will alter with Foreman Road closed from Foreman Park to Vyne Walk. This will only affect people driving to and from Foreman Park
• our contractor Volker Fitzpatrick Limited, scored 45 out of a possible 45 points at its latest Considerate Constructors Assessment on 11 April

March 2024

• diversions for British Telecom, water and high voltage cables were completed on Foreman Road
• drainage was being installed on Foreman Road Phase 1
• flood relief culvert on the north site was completed
• pile caps were installed on the north and south
• scaffolding and shuttering installed on the north abutment (supporting structure for the bridge) and is being progressed to the south abutment
• Year 10 students from Ash Manor school visited the site on 20 March

February 2024

• we, as environmental health authority, have given permission for weekend working until the first May Bank Holiday, 6 May 2024. Our contractor has agreed to adhere to stringent noise limits. This is so we can meet important deadlines
• piling is now complete on both the north and south sites
• the new Foreman Road roundabout (opposite Vyne Walk) is progressing well
• kerbs have been installed on the new roundabout and southside embankment
• the drainage pond has been dug for the northside embankment
• drainage pipes are being installed at north end of Foreman Road
• the Foreman Road entrance to site has been surfaced and the wheelwash is working

Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) piling complete, south wing walls.

Blinding complete, north west wing wall.

January 2024

• the piling rig will move back to the south site on Friday 26 January
• we hope that piling will be completed by the middle of February

December 2023

• piling work is taking longer than planned on the south side of the site. This is due to poor weather and unexpected ground conditions. We, as environmental health authority, has given permission to extend working hours on site to enable the piling to be completed by the end of January
• when necessary, work will go on until 8pm Monday to Friday
• our contractor, Fitzpatrick (VFL), raised £1000 from its supply chain to buy Christmas presents for children whose families receive food parcels from the Ash Villages Food Parcel Project (opens new window)

Pictured above are members of the Food Parcels Project team, some of the VFL team and Cllr Carla Morson.

October 2023

South side of railway

• site set-up for the main offices including parking for project staff
• construction and testing of the south piling mat before piling starts in November
• main embankment constructed and continues to settle. This can take several weeks

North side of the railway

• satellite welfare facilities for staff installed
• construction and testing of the north piling mat
• main embankment construction to roof of the new flood relief culvert
• Orchard Farm land raising almost complete
• excavation and topsoiling of flood attenuation areas

September 2023

We held two drop-in sessions in September for residents in Ash who wanted to find out more about the project.

July 2023

• Volker Fitzpatrick has been appointed as the main contractor for the project
• site preparation and pre-construction began on Monday 24 July
• construction work starts in September 2023
• the work is expected to take approximately 18 months

While work on the bridge is taking place the following will be in place:

• local diversions will be signposted at these times
• traffic calming measures will be used on residential roads
• residents will be notified in advance

Phases of the diversion routes

Foreman Road will be closed in sections to through traffic in between November 2023 and January 2025. Note that dates may change due to unforeseen circumstances.

Phase 1

Ash Church Road to Foreman Road junction
27 November 2023 to mid-May 2024

Phase 2

Foreman Park to Vyne Walk
15 May 2024 to 5 July 2024

Phase 3

Vyne Walk to Foreman Road Site Exit
15 July 2024 to 23 August 2024

Phase 4

Grange Road
2 September 2024 to 16 September 2024

Phase 5

Ash Church Road and Guildford Road
23 November 2024 to 24 January 2025

Road closure interactive map

Use the interactive map to view all five stages of diversion routes planned. Tick one phase at a time only. 

Footpath closure interactive map

Use the interactive map to view footpath diversion routes planned for phase one.

Detailed maps

View Ash Road Bridge detailed maps:

• Highway Site Plan General Arrangement (PDF) [1012KB]
• Phasing drawings (PDF) [6MB]

You can contact us to:

• ask questions
• provide feedback or
• subscribe to regular updates and a quarterly newsletter

by emailing ashroadbridge@volkerfitzpatrick.co.uk